The present invention may be considered to be an improvement over Applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,263,889 of Aug. 2, 1966. While the solder removal apparatus of the prior patent is excellently adapted for many purposes, its capacity is somewhat limited. Therefore, it was desirable to have a desoldering tool with a larger capacity both for removing solder rapidly and efficiently and for providing a larger storage space for the thus removed solder.
Furthermore, the prior solder removal apparatus above referred to is solely adapted for manual operation. This, of course, reduces the efficiency by requiring more time to cock the tool between desoldering operations. It was, therefore, desirable to provide a tool which can be automatically cocked for more rapid operation.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a desoldering tool of the character discussed which has a large capacity both for rapidly creating a vacuum to draw in large amounts of liquid solder and for storing such solder as solidified waste.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a tool which may selectively be either manually operated or pneumatically operated by means of compressed air.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a desoldering tool as discussed herein which is easy to operate and which may readily be taken apart for cleaning or repair.